mouth breathing

breathing

a type of breathing exercise that patients are taught to promote more effective aeration of the lungs, consisting of moving the diaphragm downward during inhalation and upward with exhalation.

frog breathing (glossopharyngeal breathing) respiration unaided by the primary or ordinary accessory muscles of respiration, the air being “swallowed” rapidly into the lungs by use of the tongue and the muscles of the pharynx; used by patients with chronic muscle paralysis to augment their vital capacity.

mouth breathing breathing through the mouth instead of the nose, usually because of some obstruction in the nasal passages.

breathing pattern, ineffective a nursing diagnosis approved by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as inspiration and/or expiration that does not provide adequate ventilation. Etiologic and contributing factors include disorders of the nervous system in which there is abnormal response to neural stimulation, as in spinal cord injury; impairment of musculoskeletal function, as in trauma to the chest; pain and discomfort associated with deep breathing, as after abdominal or thoracic surgery; fatigue and diminished energy level; inadequate lung expansion, as in poor body posture and positioning; inappropriate response to stress, as in hyperventilation; inflammation of respiratory structures; and tracheobronchial obstruction.

Subjective symptoms include reports of dyspnea, shortness of breath, pain associated with breathing, complaints of dizziness, and previous episodes of emotional or physical stress or fear and anxiety. Objective symptoms include increased respiratory rate and changes in depth of respirations, fremitus, abnormal arterial blood gases, nasal flaring, orthopnea or assumption of the three-point position, in which the patient sits down and elevates the shoulders by stiffening each arm and pushing downward with the hands on the chair or bed, use of accessory muscles of respiration, increased anteroposterior diameter of chest (barrel chest), and altered chest excursion.

The goal of nursing intervention is to help the patient experience improved gas exchange by using a more effective breathing pattern. This might include teaching appropriate breathing exercises and proper use of accessory muscles of respiration, and encouraging body posture that maximizes expansion of the lungs. If postoperative pain is a contributing factor, providing support of the operative site to reduce strain during coughing or moving about could encourage deeper respirations and a more normal breathing pattern. If a causative factor is stress with resultant hyperventilation or some other ineffective breathing pattern, the patient may need help in developing more beneficial coping mechanisms such as relaxation techniques.

pursed-lip breathing a breathing technique in which air is inhaled slowly through the nose and then exhaled slowly through pursed lips. This type of breathing is often used by patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to prevent small airway collapse.

breathing-related sleep disorder any of several disorders characterized by sleep disruption due to some sleep-related breathing problem, resulting in excessive sleepiness or insomnia. Included are central and obstructive sleep apnea syndromes (see adult sleep apnea).

mouth breath·ing

habitual respiration through the mouth instead of the nose, usually due to obstruction of the nasal airways.

mouth breath·ing

(mowth brēdhing)

Habitual respiration through the mouth instead of the nose, usually due to obstructed nasal airways.

mouth breath·ing

(mowth brēdhing)

Habitual respiration through the mouth instead of the nose, usually due to obstruction of the nasal airways.

"In many cases, the doctor will simply ask parents, 'How is your child sleeping?' Instead, physicians need to specifically ask parents whether their children are experiencing one or more of the symptoms-snoring, mouth breathing or apnea-of SDB.

Tonsils, ademoids and mouth breathing Several methods can be used to assess the size of the tonsils and adenoids such as endoscopy, lateral radiographs of the neck, acoustic rhinometry and digital palpation.

Only children with bilateral OME were selected, since these are the only cases for which the Dutch College of Family Physicians recommends active treatment.[25] The selection criteria were based on complaints frequently associated in the literature with the occurrence of OME, including: subjective or objective hearing loss, language and speech problems, mouth breathing and snoring, a history of recurrent upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), a family history of otitis media, and acute otitis media (AOM) 6 weeks previously.[16,26,27] Children with a history of the following were excluded: antimicrobial therapy in the preceding 6 weeks, compromised immunity, craniofacial abnormalities, Down syndrome, or cystic fibrosis.

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